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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28845792">At the Edge of Our Hope</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/codenametargeter/pseuds/codenametargeter'>codenametargeter</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Pacific Rim AU, Tactically Deployed Marianne, drift compatible besties</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 03:47:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,601</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28845792</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/codenametargeter/pseuds/codenametargeter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>To fight monsters, they created monsters of their own. </p><p>When Holst Goneril is taken out of commission, the Alliance can't afford to let the jaeger he co-pilots sit on the sideline. Hilda's going to need a new co-pilot. She has exactly one candidate in mind and he just happens to be her best friend. </p><p>One problem: Claude wants nothing to do with the drift</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hilda Valentine Goneril &amp; Claude von Riegan, Marianne von Edmund/Claude von Riegan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>At the Edge of Our Hope</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The thing is, Hilda has always known Claude is a liar. </p><p>It's not that she thinks it's a bad thing. She's a liar too after all. She and Claude just lie in different ways. More often than not, Hilda is well aware that people know she’s lying to their face when she comes up with a reason why she can’t do something and therefore they should do it for her. She doesn’t mind that people know because it makes it easier to hide the lies she really wants to keep secret. Claude, on the other hand, smiles and has a way with words that fools almost everyone but her. (And also Lorenz but to be fair, he’s looking for anything he can use against the Riegan heir.) Sometimes, she thinks about pushing him to see if she can get him to admit to any of them but it never really feels worth the effort so she doesn’t and they just keep eating their dinners, swapping gossip as they watch others walk through the Derdriu Shatterdome’s eating area. </p><p>Claude von Riegan is a liar and he is her friend and he’s one of the people Hilda trusts most in this world. </p><p>That’s why he’s the person she goes to when Holst manages to injure himself so badly in a fight that he’s still in a coma five days later and the Alliance can’t afford for Freikugel to sit on the sidelines in their fight against the giant monsters created by Those Who Slither In The Dark.</p><p>“I thought you’d be happy for the excuse to take a break for a little,” Claude says when she asks him, smiling like he thinks it’s a joke and she’ll say the punch line any minute.</p><p>She’s not going to. “This is serious, Claude,” Hilda says with a stomp of her foot. </p><p>Immediately, his expression sobers. “I know, I’m sorry. I know you must be worried about your brother.”</p><p>“I am. And I need someone to pilot Freikugel with me until he’s better.” </p><p>His expression becomes that polite smile that he hasn’t used with her in years and she <em> hates </em> that he’s using it now. “I’m not a jaeger pilot. You know that.” </p><p>“Well I don’t exactly have a lot of options, do I?” Hilda says with a bit of bite. It’s true though: the jaegers require two people with crests in order to pilot them so already the field of options is narrow. Add that to the fact that it also has to be someone you’re compatible with and, well, it’s amazing that <em> any </em> of the jaegers can move at all. But even if she did have more options, she knows she’d still be here asking him anyways.</p><p>“What about Lysithea?” </p><p>“We’re not drift compatible.”</p><p>“Lorenz?”</p><p>“In my head? Ugh. No.”</p><p>“Marianne?”</p><p>“We both know she won’t get anywhere near a jaeger.”</p><p>Claude’s looking more and more panicked. “Ask Byleth! You know they bring nothing into the drift. They can pilot with just about anyone.”</p><p>“I don’t want to pilot Freikugel with Byleth,” Hilda says, increasingly losing her own cool. “I want to pilot her with Holst but I can’t because he’s comatose and might never wake up so I want to pilot her with you. What about that do you not understand?”</p><p>There’s a flash of guilt in his green eyes before Claude looks away. “Hilda, this isn’t a good idea.” </p><p>She plants both hands on her hips. “Why not?”</p><p>“I’m a wyvern rider, not a pilot.” </p><p>“Liar!” Hilda says cheerfully before pausing. “Well. Half a liar. I know you took the training too. You told me, remember? So try again.” </p><p>He turns away from her, moving to lean on the railing. They’re in his room in the von Riegan manor in Derdriu which means there’s an actual balcony here. “There are things about me that I haven’t told you. And this isn’t how I want you to find out. Not now while we’re still at war.”</p><p>She joins him and then just stares at him. He stares right back expectantly. “What?” Hilda demands. “Was that supposed to be, like, a surprise?” </p><p>“I guess not,” Claude says with that fake smile again.</p><p>It infuriates her. “Whatever! I asked you because you’re my best friend and if I have to have someone else in my head, I wanted it to be you because I <em> trust you</em>, Claude.”</p><p>He sucks his breath in. “Hilda, I--”</p><p>She doesn’t let him finish though, spinning on her heel and flouncing her way towards the door. She pauses by the door for dramatic effect as she lays out her final blow for the day. “You’d get to know all my secrets too, you know.” </p><p>And then she leaves, conceding the battle for now but this is war and she’s definitely not done. She has another card to play and sure, maybe it’s mean and underhanded but it’s the ace in her hand. Or rather, the queen. </p><p>Hilda Valentine Goneril has never played fair once in her life and she’s not about to start now. </p><p>~</p><p>A gentle knock on the door draws Claude’s attention from the papers before him. He’s fairly sure he knows who it is by the sound alone but simply says, “Come in,” anyways as he shifts the letter he’s writing to the bottom of the pile. He’d avoid any questions about why he’s writing it in a foreign script. </p><p>“I hope I’m not bothering you,” Marianne says as she steps into the room, carefully shutting the door behind her. </p><p>“You’re never a bother,” Claude says, as he gets to his feet. With most other people, he wouldn’t mean it but with Marianne, he always does. First things first though… he presses a quick kiss to her hair and then a soft kiss to her lips. It’s their little ritual. It started with the first of the kisses back when they were still just good friends and then when romance entered the picture… well, he’ll kiss this gorgeous, incredible woman who loves him for some reason any chance he gets. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”</p><p>She takes his hand and leads him towards the seating area and sits beside him on the sofa. “Hilda came to see me yesterday.” </p><p>His heart drops and really, he should have seen this coming. He’s known Hilda Goneril for over six years now and she’s irritatingly sneaky when she wants to be but Claude can’t get too mad because, well, he’s sneaky too. “So you’re the calvary then.” </p><p>“I think you should do it,” Marianne says directly in a way she doesn’t do often. </p><p>If it was anyone but Marianne, Claude would just walk away from this conversation or find a way to deflect. A lifetime of practice means he’s pretty damn good at it. But it is Marianne and she’s the one person who knows both him and Hilda well enough to see through both of their masks. “It’s just not a good idea, Marianne. And besides, Hilda and me in a jaeger? Even Teach knows that would be chaos. Seteth would hate trying to keep us in line.”</p><p>“Aren’t you always telling me doing the unexpected is useful in war?” </p><p>“Oh, well hit!” Claude says, clutching as his chest with mock pain. Her only response to that is a small, satisfied smile. After a moment, he straightens up again. “It’s just… It’s not a good idea.”</p><p>“You and Hilda are close,” Marianne says without a trace of jealousy; a simple statement of fact. “It makes sense that you two would be drift compatible. I suppose I don’t understand why you’re saying no when you always help one of your Deer when we ask.” </p><p>Oof. That’s another good hit and this one actually hurts because she’s right. He’s protective to a fault of every single one of the men and women who’d been in the Golden Deer house. It’s something Judith pokes fun at him for but he can tell she’s not actually serious about it. “There are things about me,” Claude says, trying to choose his words carefully, “that neither of you know that she’ll find out about the minute we go into the drift and they might change how she’ll see me. Maybe it’s selfish of me but I’m not ready to lose her. Or you.”</p><p>Almost instantly, Marianne reaches out a hand and lays it atop of his, making him turn to meet her eyes. “You should have a little more faith in the people who love you.”</p><p>He should. And he wants to. But Claude doesn’t know how to explain to her what makes him feel so unsure without actually telling her his secret. Even though no one knows for sure that he’s half-Almyran, he’s seen the looks that some of the more xenophobic Fódlaners shoot his way. He’s heard the way Hilda used to talk about Almyrans even if she doesn’t anymore. There’s no way of knowing how she’ll respond to finding out he’s not just the Duke Riegan but the heir to the Almyran throne just like there’s no way he’ll be able to avoid feeling every bit of her reaction. That’s how the drift works. You share everything with your partner and hold nothing back. </p><p>Marianne’s still patiently waiting for an answer so he says, “Faith’s always been more your realm than mine.”</p><p>“You had faith in me when I thought my Crest was a curse,” she says. She doesn’t need to say the rest because Claude can hear the words echoing clearly in his mind. </p><p>Smiling lopsidedly, Claude says, “Hilda really knew what she was doing when she asked you to come talk to me, didn’t she?” </p><p>“She’s very smart like that,” Marianne says as she gets to her feet. “Should I tell Hilda you’re considering it when she asks?”</p><p>“I’ll talk to her,” he promises, standing along with her and walking her to the door. He reaches for the door handle and then hesitates. “What Hilda’s going to see if we drift… I can tell you too. If you want.”</p><p>“You can tell me when you’re ready.” Rising up on to her toes, she presses another chaste kiss to his lips before slipping out of the room, leaving Claude alone with his thoughts. </p><p>The irony isn’t lost on him that if he goes through with this, he soon won’t ever be alone with them again. </p><p>An act of faith, he reminds himself. An act of faith. </p><p>~</p><p>There really isn’t any reason for Hilda to be in the bay where the Alliance’s three jaegers are stored so the mages and mechanics can work on them but she’s here anyway, perched up near Freikugel’s head. It’s a raised platform that gives anyone either getting inside or doing work up near the head easier access but right now, it’s just a really good place to be alone. </p><p>“Holst’ll wake up eventually,” she says to the lifeless metal giant. “He’s my big brother so he has to. If he doesn’t, I’ll be really mad at him and he hates it when I’m mad at him.” </p><p>Freikugel says nothing back. It never does. Not like this. </p><p>She keeps talking because why not? “I asked Marianne to go talk to Claude but that was <em> yesterday</em>. I think he’s going to keep telling me no and that’s just annoying.” </p><p>“Shows what you know.”</p><p>Hilda’s head whips around, one of her pigtails hitting her in the face to see Claude standing on the landing below, dressed in one of the standard pilot jumpsuits that she absolutely hates because they’re so unflattering and not cute. “Claude?!”</p><p>“Expecting someone else?” Claude asks, leaning against the railing. </p><p>“I wasn’t even expecting you!” </p><p>“You deployed Marianne to guilt trip me and you weren’t sure it was going to work?”</p><p>Wrinkling her nose, Hilda says, “Have you ever tried to convince you to do something before?” </p><p>“I’ll have you know that I am excellent at convincing people to do things,” Claude says, shifting upright and starting up the stairs towards her. “Sending Marianne was… effective.” </p><p>“Sorry,” Hilda says, only partially meaning it. </p><p>He snorts. “No you’re not. But that’s okay. She said some things I needed to hear.” Holding her breath, Hilda waits for him to go on but instead Claude just says, “You’re not going to pilot in that, are you?”</p><p>Blinking at him, Hilda says, “You mean like right now?” </p><p>“Got something else to do today?”</p><p>Hilda changes faster than she’s ever changed before in her life. She tells herself it’s not because she’s scared Claude might change his mind if she doesn't but she also knows that’s 100% a lie.  She’s super scared. And she’s scared of what comes next because there has to be a good reason why Claude was so hesitant to agree to this. Sure, he keeps everything close to the chest but this feels different. </p><p>But there’s no turning back now. </p><p>The mages and technicians bustle around them, checking the delicate machinery that’ll let them control Freikugel, leaving both Hilda and Claude to themselves. There’s more space between them than there usually would be which is weird because pretty soon, there isn’t going to be any space between their minds. </p><p>“We’re almost ready,” Lysithea tells them in her no nonsense manner, not even looking up from her work.</p><p>“Great,” Hilda says and definitely does not squeak. She’s not nervous or having second thoughts. She’s fine. Completely fine. This’ll go great. </p><p>“Hey.”</p><p>Claude’s looking at her when her head jerks up and around. “What?”</p><p>He closes the distance between them and hugs her tightly with <em> both arms </em> which is also weird because usually he just slings one arm around her shoulders and leaves it at that. “I love you,” he says softly in her ear so only she can hear him. “Just remember that, okay?” </p><p>She’s only just starting to think up a response when Lysithea says, “She’s ready,” and Claude pulls away, taking his place on one side of the console. Hilda does the same and the techs start to strap them both in, connecting them to the jaeger. The finishing touch is the almost crown-like headband on each of their brows. Lysithea continues, “Once we’re all out of here, put your hand on the console. She’ll reach for your crests and then you’ll get pulled into the drift. Don’t fight it.” She turns to glare at Claude. </p><p>He holds up his hands in surrender. “I would never.” </p><p>“Right,” Lysithea says in a tone that says she clearly does not believe him. She points up at a large crystal. “That’ll let us hear each other once Freikugel’s functioning. Good luck.” </p><p>There’s nothing new for Hilda about the mages and techs filing out of Freikugel’s head and leaving her almost alone. If she doesn’t look over, she can pretend that it’s Holst standing beside her. This was always one of the few times in which they both shut up. Silence is their last bit of privacy before the drift. But it’s not Holst standing next to her. It’s Claude. Because she asked.</p><p>The console lets out a soft hum and she places her hand on it, Claude a fraction of a second behind her. “Initiating drift,” a voice says through the communication gem and then she has just barely enough time to see the Crest of Riegan and her own Crest of Goneril flash before them before they’re both pulled into the drift and--</p><p>
  <em> you chase after Holst, smiling up at him and asking to be lifted </em>
</p><p>
  <em> you pull back a bow that’s far too big for you but you’re determined to do it to prove to everyone that you can </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Don’t fall for it, Teach. Hilda’s gifts always come with a price,” rings with an odd echo as you both say it and hear it at once </em>
</p><p>
  <em> kissing Marianne for the first time, trying not to let your nerves show but oh her lips are just so sweet  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> the look on raphael’s face when you hand him the necklace you’ve made for his sister. No one’s ever reacted quite like this to your work before and it makes you feel… strange </em>
</p><p>
  <em> a man with light brown skin watches you as you step towards a wyvern. “Do not let her sense your fear, Khalid.” “I’m not afraid.”  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> an axe lays there before you, like it’s staring into your very soul. You don’t want to touch it. You just don’t. You’ll never be as good with it as Holst </em>
</p><p>
  <em> you keep your chin raised high and pretend not to hear the whispers. “A boy like that will never be fit to hold the throne. He’s not Almyran. Not truly.” “He won’t last.” “Weakling.” you will prove them wrong. somehow </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “why aren’t you taking this seriously?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “no one is to know where you’re from. Not if you’re to be my heir.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “you shouldn’t let anyone change you or else you’ll end up losing the qualities that make you so great.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “but if you want to know all my secrets, you’ll have to bare yours as well.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> secrets... secrets… what secrets? There are none between you now. There is only the--  </em>
</p><p>“--drift is strong! Crests successfully linked. This jaeger is online!” </p><p>Being in a drift with someone else is… strange. Hilda no longer knows where she ends and Claude begins. They just are. As one, they lift first their right arms, Freikugel’s moving in sync, and then do the same with the left, bringing the massive metal fists together with a loud smash. There’s a set of movements that either a new jaeger or a new drift pair are supposed to run through when they first spin up. Hilda knows them and now so does Claude so they go through them together. It probably looks weird from the outside because it’s just silly stuff like raising one foot at a time, turning the head from side to side, and doing other isolated movements like that but apparently it’s important to do stuff like this before anything crazy like swinging an axe.</p><p>They reach the end of the list and Claude turns to look at her, one of his genuine smiles on his face. “Is that it?”</p><p>“No,” Hilda says even though she doesn’t actually have to speak and she knows he already knows the answer. “Let’s have some fun.” </p><p>Technically, they’re supposed to wait for authorization but they’re Golden Deer. Who does something like that? They take off at a run although really it’s more of a smooth lope and head right out the door into the harbor. It feels different than it did with Holst but that makes sense. She’s not drifting with Holst. Claude is more fluid in his movements and now so is Freikugel. Maybe they’ll be known as the dancing jaeger now. She’s not sure if that last thought is hers or his or just both. </p><p>The sea offers no resistance as they run through the water, away from the city and the Derdriu harbor out to the training range the Church of Seiros constructed for the handful of jaegers in existence. There are targets for them to hit and others that can throw projectiles back at them. They don’t hit everything perfectly and neither do they avoid every thing that comes at them but they do a damn good job for a new team as the drift between them only grows stronger and Claude acclimates to the sensation of piloting something so huge.</p><p>“Think we can talk Leonie into giving her an oversized bow too?” Claude asks as they stick the landing from a leap. </p><p>“We have an <em> axe, </em> Claude,” Hilda says like that answers everything.</p><p>“We could have both!”</p><p>“And you didn’t even want to pilot with me.” </p><p>Claude breezes right past that, not letting either of them chase that rabbit. “A <em> bow, </em> Hilda. A bow would be so cool.”</p><p>By silent agreement, they start to make their way back to the bay so they can power the jaeger down and find out if they officially passed their test but there’s no doubt in either of their minds that they have. As Freikugel powers down, the drift goes with it and Hilda’s left with a distinct sense of loss as if she’s lost a limb. It feels different than when she stops drifting with Holst which makes sense because this is Claude and drifting with him doesn’t feel the same either. </p><p>They’re just barely free from the piloting apparatus when Hilda all but flings herself across the space between them and shrieks without pausing to think, “Khalid? <em> Khalid</em>?” </p><p>Claude winces but doesn’t look surprised. Probably because their minds were just linked. “Let’s talk about this not here, okay?” </p><p>She <em> really </em> wants to talk to him about it now but she knows how much this secret has been eating at him so instead, Hilda just sighs and nods. “Yeah. Okay.”</p><p>Neither of them say anything further as the hatch flips open and they aren’t alone anymore. They’re supposed to do a debrief. Supposed to. Instead, Hilda says, “Great first drift right? Okay, bye!” and grabs Claude’s wrist to bodily drag him out of Freikugel, pausing only to pat the jaeger on the hull once they’re outside again and then keeps right on going. </p><p>“You already saw everything,” Claude says lightly. “I’m not going to run anywhere.” </p><p>“You want to jump on your wyvern right now,” Hilda counters but she drops her grip on his wrist anyways. </p><p>The place high and away from other people they ended up finding their way to isn’t one of Hilda’s usual hideouts but rather Claude’s and it’s not somewhere she really remembers ever having visited before but it feels familiar anyways. The drift. The answer to everything is always the stupid drift. </p><p>Once they’re settled, she barely gives Claude enough time to turn and look down at her before exclaiming, “You’re a <em> prince</em>? And you never told me?!” </p><p>Claude spreads his hands wide, palms up. “Honestly, I was kind of expecting you to start with the Almyran part.” </p><p>“Oh I figured <em> that </em> out ages ago,” Hilda says with a wave of her hand. “I mean, we are from right by Fódlan’s Locket and I <em> do </em> have eyes. But a <em> prince</em>? And your name’s actually Khalid?”</p><p>“They’re both my name,” Claude says, running one hand through his hair. “My parents wanted to make sure I had a name from both of their cultures. And before you ask, I grew up speaking both languages too which is why I don’t have an accent.”</p><p>“Well it’s really dumb that your grandfather made you only go by Claude here.”</p><p>He shrugs in non-answer he’d decided is easier a long time ago. Whoa. That’s weird. Oh right. The drift. Hilda wrinkles her nose because <em> ugh </em> now she’s got <em> two of them </em> up there. Claude just smirks. “Don’t forget that you’re the one who bullied me into being your temporary drift partner.” </p><p>“I know but it’s always strange right after.” </p><p>They sit together quietly for a few minutes, watching as a ship enters the harbor down below. It all looks so calm and normal and nothing like the clash of thoughts running through her mind. It’s Claude who finally breaks the silence. “What I felt when you first realized… that’s why I didn’t tell you before.”</p><p>Hilda winces. Her first reaction had been… not great. She’d been brought up to believe a lot of mean and unfair things about Almyrans (and other people who weren’t from Fódlan). They were eastern menace and only Fódlan’s Throat and soldiers like Holst kept them safe. Coming to Garreg Mach and interacting with people from beyond Fódlan had helped open her eyes to why thinking like that wasn’t okay. And she can’t help but feel like she’s let Claude down by even thinking something like that for even a fraction of a second. She says softly, “I’m sorry about that.”</p><p>Claude acknowledges her words with a nod and continues on. “I know because what I felt from you next… that’s what really matters. Marianne was right. I should have more faith in my friends.” </p><p>She’s been trying to keep it together. She really is. And honestly, she thinks she’s done a pretty good job. Neither of them had chased the rabbit while they were linked and okay <em> fine </em> so maybe she did yell at him a tiny bit when they’d both come out of the drift but also-- “How could you think I’d leave?” Hilda says as she flings herself at him, arms wrapping around his shoulders in a tight hug. “Of course I’m not going to just walk away from you because you’re not from here. You’re my best friend and I love you too.” </p><p>Less than a heartbeat later, he’s hugging her back tightly. He must have a mouthful of her pink hair but he doesn’t move or even complain about it like he usually does. Neither one of them says anything, just holding each other. They’re both known for talking a lot but with the drift… sometimes there’s nothing left to say. </p><p>But when they eventually pull apart, Hilda says anyways, “You’ll have to try harder than that to get rid of me.”</p><p>“Nope,” Claude says cheerfully. “You’re stuck with me as your best friend forever now.” </p><p>Neither of them say anything about the one thing they both know that can bring an end to this. </p><p>Companionable silence drapes over them again until Claude nudges her in the ribs and says, “So. Did you really try and kiss--”</p><p>“Don’t you dare!” Hilda cuts him off, face flaming as she tries not to think of the eternal embarrassment. </p><p>“And what about that thing with--”</p><p>“Claude!” She takes a swing at him that he easily ducks, laughing all the while. “You’re so mean!” (Honestly, this is probably him being nicer than she deserves because she knows he saw all of her insecurities <em> and </em> that he wants to talk to her about them.) </p><p>“You got to see me fumbling through kissing Marianne for the first time,” Claude says. “Which, by the way, she does <em> not </em> need to know how nervous I was about asking her to dance.” </p><p>“I would never,” Hilda says sweetly. “As long as you never tell anyone about either of those incidents.” </p><p>He places his free hand over his heart and says sincerely, “I would never. Drift partner’s honor.” Claude rises to his feet and extends a hand down to help her up. “Shall we get dinner? I can’t believe how starved I am just from that trial run.” </p><p>“Sure,” she says linking her arm through his. There’s a lot of things she still wants to ask him but there’s plenty of time for that. “And dessert too. That’s the most important of any post-drift meal.” </p><p>“Are you sure about that?” Claude asks as they slowly start to make their way down off the roof and back towards solid ground.</p><p>Hilda glares up at him. “Of course I am! I’m the one who’s drifted before so I know about these things.” </p><p>“Dessert it is then!”</p><p>It’s not that she ever wanted to have to drift with someone besides Holst. It’s hard enough knowing one person like that, let along two. But she had to. And she’s glad it’s Claude. Their lies can keep each other company in the drift if they want to and so can their good memories because when the Slitherers’ monsters rise out of the sea again, Freikugel will be there to stop them. </p><p>And she’ll be side by side with her best friend.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It was probably inevitable that I was going to write a Pacific Rim/drift compatible fic one day but honestly, I thought it was going to be with some of my Blue Lions favs. Instead, I just hit in the face with the thought of Claude and Hilda being drift compatible because while yeah, it's a great shippy mechanism, I am such a sucker for the power of friendship and this happened! It's my first time writing most of the Deer so hopefully I did okay. Also I agonized a lot over whether it was right to tag this with Claude/Marianne since Claude and Hilda's friendship is the focus but they're still there. Okay I'm done rambling down here for now.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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